Geoege pirnie



(No Model.)

G.. 'PIRNIR WHIP.

Patented Jan. 3, 1888.

Snom/Lto@ N. PETER Phulo-Lilhugmpher. wnshngnm. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE PIRNIE, OF NYACK, NEV YORK.

WHIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,950, dated January 3, 1888.

Application tiled October 17, |867. Serial No. 252,540. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom z' 77mg/ concern:

Be it known that LGEORGE PIRNIE,a citizen of the United States, residing at Nyack, in the county of Rockland and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in W'hips; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In the manufacture of carriage-whips and other whips having a covered stock or handle the stock is usually composed of three concentriclayers of material. The core or central portion is made of rattan, bone, or other suitable substance. Outside ofthe core or central portion is a middle lining of leather wound or wrapped aroundthe central portion. An outer covering is then woven or plaited around the middle lining.

The object of my invention is to produce a whip which shall be stronger, more durable, easierof manufacture, and neater in workmanship than any now in use. To this end I ern'- ploy eel-skin as the material of the middlelining.

ing drawings, which are hereby made a part of this specification, and in which similar letters refer to similar parts.

Figure l is a vertical cross section ofthe stock of a straight77 whip. A is the core or central piece. B is the middle lining of eelskin. C is the woven or plaited outer covering. D is a loop, to which the snapper is attached. rIhis loop may be constructed in any suitable way.

4 Fig. 2 is a view of the finished whip, E being the snapper, which may be attached to the loop D in any suitable manner.

In its preferred form I carry out my invention as follows: The eellskin, when iirst 1e.

moved from the eel, is stretched in such a way that it willstiffen and dry fiat. Then without any tanning or other treatment the dry skin is cut into long and narrow strips or ribbons about an inch wide. These strips of skin are soaked in water for several hours until they become quite soft and flexible. They are then wound spirally upon the central piece of the stock in the usual way and by the usual means, and are held in place until dry by the common My invention is shown by the accompanyexpedient of winding twine about them. In drying the eelskin shrinks strongly and clings snugly to the central piece,and when the eelskin has thoroughly dried on, the twine may 'be removed andthe skin will remain in place without the use of cement or other adhesive agent. Finally, the outer covering is plaited on and the whip is finished up in the usual manner.

My invention does not consist merelyin the substitution of eel skin as the material for the middle lining, B. I am aware that the mere substitution of one material for another is not a patentable invention; butin the application ot' eel-skin to whips I have discovered and brought into play qualities which, so far as I am aware, have not hitherto been known in eelfskin. I have simplilied the process of manufacture, and I have produced new and important results in the iiuished whip.

Heretofore it has been necessary to employ forthe middle lining of whips only skins whichhavebeen tanned. rIhe tanning has of course added to the cost of the skin. Owing to the thinness of eelvskin and its iiexibility when wet I am enabled to dispense entirely with theprocess of tanning. Again, inexperiment-` ing with the use of eel-skin for whips I have discovered that the power of shrinkage resident in Veel-skin is very great as compared with that of other skins. Now, skin linings have heretofore been fastened about the core or central piece by cement or some other adhesive agent. By taking advantage of the shrinking power of eel-skin I dispense with this adhesive agententirely, thus reducing both thc cost and trouble of manufacture. Being wound ,while wet upon the core, the eel-skin in drying shrinks so much as to cling very tightly to the core, and when thoroughly dried thev eel-skin will be heldin its place about the core simply by its own shrinkage. Again, all n1aterials heretofore employed for the middle lining of whips have been too thick and have made the finished whip too bulky. Eelskin being very thin, it rolls around the center more smoothly and thus makes the diameter of the stock less. The greatshriukage of the eel-skin reduces the diameter of the whip still more, and at the same time produces ahardenirmer, and smoother surface on the stock. All these effects make the general workmanship of the ICO Whip neater. In the case of straightwhips intense shrinkage of the eel-skin has the fur'- ther effect of straightening the top of the stock, so that the Whip bends over less than any whips heretofore made.

By the application of eelskin to whips I have developed still another valuable quality in eel-skin not hitherto known, as I believe. This is its extreme oiliness. The amount of oil contained in eel-skin is much greater than that contained in any other skin hitherto used for the lining of Whips, and its oiliness is stillVL further increased by using .the skin untanned. The oily qualities of the eel-skin actin a very striking manner both upon the core of the Whip and upon its outer covering, at once rendering them ilexible and less brittle, and preserving them from the effects of dampn'es's. The oiliness of the eel skin and its very close texture also preserve the bone core from the action offrost-a mostimportant result. Nothing is more common than for whips to break in cold Weather. An eel-skin lining will largely prevent this. Finally, all these results, coupled with the extreme toughness of eel-skin, render the whip vastly more durable than those formerly made. I may make the' entire lining or inner wrapper, B, of eeleskin, or I may cover the core with eel skin'vfor part of the length ofthe core only, and may use a middle lining of some other material for the )alance ofthe length.

My invention may be applied to what are known as drop-top Whips, one of which is shown in Fig. 3, in which the cent-ral portion, A, terminates some distance from the smaller end of the stalk, the remaining portion of the stalk being usually composed only of the lining B, prolonged and rolled like a cord, and

with the covering C tightly plaited'aronud it, thus being flexible enough to fall or drop77 over. I may make the drop part of the Whip simply of the eelskin lining and the covering, or I may use a cloth or other flexible central portion Within the eel-skin lining. In these Whips, also, I may employ an eel-skin lining for only a part of the length ofthe whips. In either case most of the advantages will exist Which are found in using eel-skin in straight whips. tageously applied to any Whip having a covered stock.

I do not limit myself to any of the methods of manufacture hereinbefore described; but I desire to cover all methods of employing eel skin for the liningof Whips.

Having described my invention, what I elai m as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A Whip one of whose wrappings or cov erings is composed of eel-skin, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Indeed, my invention may be advany 2. A Whip consisting of the core or central portion, 4A, the middle lining, B, Wholly or partly composed of eel skin, and the outer covering,0, substantially as shown and described.

3. A Whip consisting ofa hard core of rattan or other suitable material inclosed in a Wrapping or middle lining wholly or partly composed of untanned eel-skin and with an outer fibrous covering, the eel-skin being held in place merely by its own shrinkage, sub stantially as shown and described.

GEORGE PIRNIE.

\Vitnesses:

FRANK L. CRAWFORD, JULIAN PoMERoY. 

